43 Northeast Ohio Girl Scouts Earn Highest Award in Girl Scouting

08 Jun 2018

Macedonia, OH – Girl Scouts of North East Ohio (GSNEO) is
honoring 43 Gold Award Girl Scouts at a celebration on Saturday, June
16, 2018 at 2 p.m. at the John S. Knight Center in Akron. The Girl
Scout Gold Award is the highest award a Girl Scout Senior or
Ambassador may earn. The Gold Award project challenges girls to
identify an unmet need or core issue in their community, research and
investigate it, recruit volunteers and build a team to create a plan
to take action. This year’s projects included renovations to domestic
violence shelters, diversity and identity training, farm education
programs, and many more projects that benefit Northeast Ohio and beyond.

When compared to non–Girl Scout alums, Gold Award Girl Scouts soar
when it comes to seeing themselves as leaders, providing service to
others through volunteerism, and having positive attitudes about
themselves and the lives they lead. More than 90% of alum not only
attributed their success in life to Girl Scouts, but they also said
they could not have had access to the same experiences anywhere else.

Nationwide, only five percent of eligible Girl Scouts go for the
gold. This year, 43 Gold Award recipients from Northeast Ohio will
join the ranks of generations of young women who are recognized for
making a difference, both locally and globally. It’s not only Girl
Scouts who understand the value of the Gold Award. Some universities
and colleges offer scholarships unique to Gold Award recipients, and
girls who enlist in the U.S. armed forces automatically enter the
military one rank higher.

2018 Girl Scout Gold Award recipients

Erin Abshire, Rittman, The Zone

Kyrstin Allen, Akron, Color Guard Benches

Anna Back, Wadsworth, Serenity Garden and Trail

Ariel Benya, Wadsworth, Renovation of the Wadsworth United Methodist
Church Annex Room

Rebecca Waggel, Madison, Water Bottle Filling Station at Perry High School

Hunter Wells, New Franklin, A Sign in the Right Direction

Adelaide White, Warren, Kinsman Quilts

Sarah Zusman, Willoughby, Cultivation Education

Bios and photos are available upon request.

Earning the Gold Award is just one of the amazing things girls can
do as part of Girl the Scout Leadership Experience. At Girl Scouts, we
are all about practicing everyday leadership, preparing girls to
empower themselves, and promoting G.I.R.L. (Go-getter, Innovator,
Risk-taker, Leader)™ experiences. To join, volunteer, or donate to
Girl Scouts of North East Ohio, please visit gsneo.org.

To set up an interview with a Gold Award Girl Scout, please contact
Nicolle Kovacs, Strategy and Brand Engagement Coordinator, at
nkovacs@gsneo.org or (330) 983-0397.